Talent Showcases

Recognized by many as the industry leader in actor showcases designed to highlight diverse talent, the CBS Diversity Institute Talent Showcases are attended by senior level CBS Entertainment executives, showrunners and casting directors from series on CBS as well as other networks and high level talent agents.

Results

To date, across all categories, 376 actors have appeared in the CBS Diversity Talent Showcases and as a direct result there have been 3,275 auditions and from those auditions actors have landed 646 roles.

Upcoming Talent Showcase:

CBS TO SPONSOR ANNUAL DIVERSITY SKETCH COMEDY SHOWCASE

January 2018

SUBMIT TO: BREAKDOWN SERVICES or ACTOR’S ACCESS

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER, 2017

IF POSSIBLE, PLEASE SUBMIT ACTOR’S ONLINE DEMO CLIPS ALONG WITH EACH ACTOR SUBMISSION

[SKETCH COMEDIANS] Male or female, 18+, open ethnicity. This showcase is focused on African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Latinx, Native American performers, performers with disabilities, and LGBTQ performers with an emphasis on individuals with extensive sketch comedy experience. The showcase will be in Los Angeles in January 2018. Each audition will require two (2) minutes total of original character sketches or impressions. Performers will be asked to present four (4) unique, DIFFERENT and comedic characters in this time. Think along the lines of the characters/sketches you would see on large scale sketch comedy shows. No one under 18 will be considered and must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Most Recent Showcase

CBS Diversity hosted its 12th annual Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, January 2017. At each performance the theatre was filled beyond its 360-seat capacity with agents, managers, studio and network executives and Hollywood tastemakers. Under the guidance of director Rick Najera (writing credits include In Living Color,” “MADtv” and “Latinologues on Broadway) 22 actors and 80 writers, selected from more than 3,000 who applied, wrote more than 2,000 sketches and performed all-original material. The five-day event was produced by CBS Casting SVP Fern Orenstein who has been in charge of Diversity Talent Showcases for CBS since 2002. Past participants in the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcases include Justin Hires (MACGYER), Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live), Geoffrey Arend (Madam Secretary), Eugene Codero (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Masi Oka (Hawaii Five-O) and many more.

THE CBS DIVERSITY SKETCH COMEDY SHOWCASE

WRITERS’ APPLICATION PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED

Eligibility

The primary focus of The CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase is to provide exposure, access and opportunities for talented and motivated diverse writers and performers. Aspiring diverse writers with a strong desire to WRITEfor the CBS showcase are encouraged to apply. You must be 21 or older to be eligible. SUBMISSION PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED. All completed application materials must be received between May 8 – July 10, 2017. Any submissions received before May 8th or after July 10, 2017 will not be considered. No hand delivered submissions will be accepted. Finalists will be notified in early September 2017 (or such later date as may be determined by CBS).